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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28034277">A Warp Core Lullaby</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/joely_jo/pseuds/joely_jo'>joely_jo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: The Next Generation (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Babies, Family, Fluff, Gen, Love, Post-Movie: Star Trek Nemesis (2002), So sickly sweet it pains me, USS Titan, parenting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:15:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,463</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28034277</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/joely_jo/pseuds/joely_jo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Two new parents, a crying baby and the USS Titan.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>William Riker/Deanna Troi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Warp Core Lullaby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Set in the same universe as my fic The Long Breath and featuring the characters that I've created for the Titan. This is not because I dislike the actual Titan books series and its characters, but rather because when I started to write fic from this era, I wanted to write without the constraints of using book canon, especially given that Picard effectively sets out a whole new canon. </p><p>I actually can't believe I've written this. I never write fluff. I only rarely write family fic and when I do it tends to be angsty stuff. But here we are... Are you ready for a sugar overdose? Then read on...</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A Warp Core Lullaby</p><p> </p><p> Doctor Alastair Melling pressed the chime on the Rikers' cabin door and stood back a pace. It was an unconscious habit, one that, if he thought about it, came down to his bedside manner, which was to always give his patients privacy above all else. Of course, being a doctor sometimes meant that privacy wasn’t something he could grant. Sometimes, there was no getting around the fact that a doctor saw as much and sometimes more than immediate family.</p><p>This morning was no exception to that. After a lengthy pause, and just as he was about to reach for the chime again, the doors slid open and Deanna Troi stared blearily back at him. She was dressed in a crumpled satin nightgown and thick fluffy bed socks. It was an incongruous ensemble. “Alastair, oh, forgive me… I’d forgotten all about your visit.” She sighed deeply and pushed a hand through hair that was about as far as it was possible to be from her usual well-groomed state.</p><p>“Not to worry,” he said. “May I come in?”</p><p>“Yes, of course.”</p><p>She turned away and led the way into the living area, which bore a look of chaos that was, again, highly uncharacteristic for Deanna Troi. Items of clothing were slung carelessly over the backs of chairs, empty cups and a half eaten breakfast of pancakes and fruit sat on the coffee table. The lights were on low and, in the corner of the room, a rocking cradle held an occupant whose arrival had wrought such devastation on the place.</p><p>Thaddeus Ian Troi-Riker had been born ten days previously, after a twenty-six hour labour and assorted unplanned medical interventions, in perfect health. Like all the first-time parents he’d attended to, the Captain and his wife had looked overwhelmed with just about every emotion it was possible to be overwhelmed with as he’d set the screaming bundle of flesh that was their son into Deanna’s arms. Two days later, they’d carried him out of Sickbay’s maternity room and taken him back home, still looking only slightly less overwhelmed.</p><p>It had made Melling smile to think that Will Riker had faced all manner of galactic threats from the Borg to the Romulans and not batted an eyelid, yet he had looked well and truly out of his depth at the arrival of a tiny newborn. At the time, Deanna had seemed a little less phased by the prospect of parenthood, but six weeks of little sleep and near constant feeds had clearly sapped that from her.</p><p>“How are you doing, Deanna?” he said as he moved a pile of muslin blankets from the armchair and took a seat. “All’s quiet at the moment.” He angled his head toward the cradle.</p><p>“He’s been asleep for forty minutes,” Deanna sighed. “I guarantee you he’ll be awake again shortly. I tried to catch a nap but, honestly, I can’t relax properly. I’m so tired.”</p><p>Melling smiled sympathetically. “Will’s still on the bridge I presume?”</p><p>“Yes, since the middle of the night. There was a red alert and he had to go. I haven’t heard from him since then.”</p><p>“There was a Barolian freighter about to have a warp core breach, I’m told,” said the doctor. “I think we have stopped to give assistance. There’s no medical emergency, hence why I am free to keep our appointment, but the engineering teams are working overtime to get them back underway. I suspect the Captain is still coordinating our efforts, hopefully before the Romulans get wind of us right on the edge of the neutral zone.”</p><p>Deanna nodded, but she looked as if she had barely heard him. Her eyes were ringed with dark circles and her face was pale and shiny, as if she hadn’t had a shower in a few days. Parental leave for a starship captain was virtually impossible to ensure and even though Will had technically not returned to a full duty schedule and wouldn’t do for the next six months, there were commitments he had to keep, regardless of that. Melling studied Deanna a moment and wondered if she would benefit from a little relief, such as he could offer. He cleared his throat and continued, “I’d like to take a look at Thaddeus when he wakes up. So if you want to use the time to do something for yourself, feel free. I don’t stand on ceremony with new parents.”</p><p>For a moment, Deanna looked hugely tempted, then she shook her head. “No, I’d rather stay, Doctor. I want to hear that everything’s all right, that he’s gaining weight and there’s no reason for his crying other than being a baby.”</p><p>“I’m sure there isn’t, Deanna. Babies are funny creatures – I think the only race of people I’ve encountered who have babies who don’t cry are the Cairn, and that’s only because the babies can communicate telepathically from birth.”</p><p>Deanna gave a soft chuff. “What I wouldn’t give for that skill right now! I thought being empathic might have helped me as a mother, but I can’t really sense any clear emotions from him – it’s all a kind of confusing buzz at the moment.”</p><p>At that, there was a tiny hiccup from the cradle, then a shifting of movement, and Thaddeus opened his mouth and began to cry, ratcheting quickly up through the scale. Melling stood. “I suspect that’s because his emotions are very simple at this age. He eats, he sleeps, he does everything on instinct, rather than with any kind of premeditation. I’m not sure thoughts and feelings really figure much in newborns, I’m afraid. But, give it time, Deanna.”</p><p>He went to the cradle and leaned over to pick up Thaddeus, hoisting the little squalling bundle up onto his shoulder. “Now then, little man, let’s have a look at you…”</p><p>Working one handed with the skill he’d learnt as a doctor and a father over the years, Melling detached his tricorder from his belt, tapped a few buttons on it then knelt down in front of the couch. He set Thaddeus down and began to run the tricorder over him. The baby’s crying stopped as the device scanned over him and the doctor felt his abdomen. “Well, it’s good news. He seems absolutely as healthy as an ox. He’s put on about a hundred grams since I saw him last week, which means he’s now steadily putting on weight. That’s excellent and that means he’s getting all the nutrition he needs. How is his feeding? How often?”</p><p>“It depends. In the evenings, I can’t seem to get away from him. All he wants is to feed. But through the night, it is settling a bit. He usually sleeps for about five hours before he wakes for the first time. After that, he can be awake once or twice again, depending.”</p><p>“Hm, well, that’s reasonably normal. And during the day?”</p><p>“About the same.”</p><p>“Any other problems?”</p><p>Deanna shook her head.</p><p>“What about Will? How is he doing?”</p><p>“He’s tired; we both are. We’re trying to get Thad to take a bottle, so Will can feed him a little, but he’s not being very willing at the moment. It usually ends with both of them getting cross.”  </p><p>At that, the doors to the cabin slid open and the captain walked in. His posture spoke of someone who was intensely sleep-deprived. His hair was sticking up and as he saw the doctor, he seemed to sag a little further. No doubt he had wanted to go straight back to bed, having been up half the night on the Bridge. “Good morning, Captain.”</p><p>“Alastair.” He suppressed a yawn. “How are things?”</p><p>“Your son is doing absolutely fine.” Melling regarded Will with concern. “You, on the other hand, look in need of some sleep. As does Deanna.”</p><p>“Part and parcel of parenthood, isn’t it, Doctor?”</p><p>“Yes, it is. I would say that the worry decreases as they get older, but I’m sure my ex-wife will disagree with me. Cameron still worries her sick and he’s twenty in three months.”</p><p>Will looked over at Deanna. “Whose idea was this again?” he teased and leaned down to kiss his wife on the head.</p><p>With a tolerant smile, Deanna took Thad from Alistair and sat down in the armchair, parting her nightgown so she could settle the baby at her breast. Will hovered in the doorway to the bedroom, his body swaying with tiredness. This time he let his yawn out and his eyes stayed involuntarily closed for a moment. “Woah, well, if everything’s as it should be, I think I might see if I can catch a couple of hours. Thanks for your time, Alistair,” he said. “Wake me, Imzadi, if you need me.”</p><p>Deanna nodded and Will disappeared into the bedroom, the door swishing shut behind him. Reaching down, Alastair gave her shoulder a squeeze, then said, “I’ll check on you all in a few weeks, but if you need anything, you know where I am. Don’t hesitate.”</p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Somewhere, a baby was crying.</p><p>Somewhere…</p><p>In the daze of sleep, Will slowly realised that the sound was not a part of a dream. He rolled onto his back and stretched, fighting his eyes open. The bedroom was dark, but instinctively he knew that it was not night-time. Deanna was not beside him. Where was she?</p><p>Then the crying punctured through his consciousness again and he jumped fully awake. Thad. Deanna. He shot out of bed and called for the computer to put on the lights, blinking in bleary-eyed confusion as the brightness blinded him a moment. “Deanna?” he called.</p><p>There was no reply. He hurried out of the bedroom and nearly walked straight into her. She was pacing, the tension rolling off her in almost physical waves, a squalling bundle on her shoulder. As they almost collided, she jammed to a halt and looked up at him. Desperation filled her face. “Will, I don’t know what to do! He won’t stop crying. He won’t eat, he won’t sleep, he’s just crying and crying.”</p><p>“Is there something wrong with him?”</p><p>“I don’t know!” She sounded frantic. “He just keeps thrashing his legs and arms and screwing up his face and…” Her voice trailed off and then she was crying too.</p><p>Faced suddenly with even more tears, Will blanched. “Hey, hey, don’t you cry too. That’s more tears than I can cope with,” he joked, trying to make light of the situation in order to diffuse it. “Let me take him for a while. Have you eaten?”</p><p>She shook her head. “Not since breakfast.”</p><p>“What time is it now?”</p><p>“Nearly 17:00 hours,” she replied. Will blew out air from between his teeth. He hadn’t meant to catch more than a nap.</p><p>“Why didn’t you wake me? I could’ve managed with just a couple of hours.”</p><p>“You were tired.”</p><p>A flash of guilt passed through him and he went to her and took Thad, tucking the baby into the crook of his arm like he was a ball. Thad continued to wail. “And now you’re tired. I’ll take him for a while; we’ll go for a walk around the ship, pay a visit to a few people – I’ve got to check in on Engineering and see how they’re doing. You get some rest. And eat something.”</p><p>“What about when he wants a feed?”</p><p>“I’ll bring him back or I’ll replicate him a bottle.”</p><p>There was a moment of indecision where Deanna weighed the offer alongside her maternal instinct to care for her son by herself, then exhaustion got the better of her and she nodded. Will reached out and cradled her face in his hand a moment, smoothing his thumb over her cheek. “Go on and do some of those relaxation exercises you’re always telling me to do. We’ll be fine, won’t we kiddo?” He juggled Thad onto his shoulder and patted the baby’s back. Immediately, a big milky belch painted Will’s back with a thin line of white vomit and he sighed, reaching for one of the muslins on the back of the sofa. “Good job I’m not dressed yet, eh?”</p><p>He moved into the bedroom and plopped Thad down on the bed while he donned a fresh uniform and cleaned himself up. He ran a hand through his hair to straighten it up as best he could, then looked down at the still crying baby. “Come on, demon child, let’s go.”</p><p>Turning, he saw Deanna standing in the doorway, looking haunted. “Don’t worry, he’ll settle eventually. I’ll get Alastair to check him over again, if you want, but he’s probably just got wind or something.”</p><p>“I wish I could—”</p><p>“Don’t beat yourself up,” he said, leaning down and kissing her head. “I don’t think there’s a parent in the galaxy who’ll tell you raising a kid is easy.”</p><p>Nodding, Deanna smiled a tight smile. “Thank you, Will.”</p><p>“Just doing my duty,” he said with a smile of his own. “My <em>other </em>duty.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Faces turned in curiosity as Will walked down the hallway. He’d given up trying to shush his son and instead had decided simply to keep moving and rhythmically patting his back, keeping up as steady a pace as he could. A quick check in with Sickbay had confirmed that there was nothing much wrong with Thad other than a case of colic and overtiredness. Doctor Melling had administered a dose of something that would ease the pain of the colic and told Will that sometimes motion was ultimately the best cure for the common infant condition. He’d provided him with a form of sling that allowed Will to keep his hands free whilst still having the baby held to his chest and Will had set off, determined that he wasn’t going to return home until Thad went off to sleep.</p><p>At the concerned expressions, he nodded his head politely or offered a little banter about the woes of parenthood, finally boarding a turbolift and heading for Engineering. If Thad was going to scream himself to sleep, he might as well do it while Will was doing his job.</p><p>Engineering was nearly deserted in the aftermath of the Barolian incident. Will noticed a lone ensign working on a terminal at the far end, but other than that, the frenetic activity of the past twelve hours appeared to have abated.</p><p>As it was now approaching evening, the light level had begun to lower, as it did when the nightshift was about to begin, leaving Engineering bathed in soft yellow light. The steady pulse of the warp core throbbed gently, the only background sound in an otherwise quiet room.</p><p>“Captain?” came the voice of Lieutenant Commander Ashishi Sh’thraathan, Titan’s Andorian chief engineer, as she came around the central island to investigate why she could suddenly hear the sound of a baby crying.</p><p>“Shish,” said Will, greeting her with a smile. “Sorry for the noise, but I wanted to check in on my favourite chief engineer and check everything was as it should be. And Thad was driving Deanna insane so I thought a walk around the ship might help him settle.”</p><p>Sh’thraathan eyeballed the baby with the look of someone facing an explosive device about to detonate. “Um, that’s fine, sir, but you should know I prefer warp cores to babies.”</p><p>“Sure. Best way for an engineer, I guess. So how you doing?”</p><p>“We’re just about finished with the Barolian ship. Their warp core is fully functioning and we’re just cleaning up and doing the last pressure tests. My teams will be beaming back within the hour and then the Barolians can get on their way and so can we.”</p><p>“Great. Well done, Shish. You’ll give everyone a break once they’re done, yeah?”</p><p>“I intend to. And once everyone’s back, I’m going back to my quarters for a shower and at least three ales.”</p><p>“Is Wes on tonight?”</p><p>“Yes, he had to be chased away for some rest at lunchtime, but he’s back on again with Delta shift.” Shish shook her head, her antennae flicking upwards. “You know, between you and me, I need to watch my back, sir, because he could do my job no problem. And does, quite often. He’s saved my ass a few times already.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, Commander, I think he needs a few more years before he remembers that he can’t stop time and restart it again when he’s finished,” said Will with a chuckle.</p><p>And then realised that they were all of a sudden standing in silence, with only the throb of the Titan’s warp core in the background. “Hold on a minute,” said Will, looking down in open surprise at the bundle attached to his chest.</p><p>Sh’thraathan looked at him in alarm. “What is it? Is he—”</p><p>“Asleep,” Will finished with a relieved grin. “He’s actually asleep.”</p><p>The Titan’s chief engineer peered sceptically at Thad, who was nestled still as a stone against Will’s chest. “Maybe he likes it down here?” she offered. “An engineer in the making!”  </p><p>“Huh. Maybe! Mind if I stick around a bit?”</p><p>“Not at all, Captain. Make yourself comfortable.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>“Crusher to Troi.”</p><p>Deanna opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling a moment. “Troi here,” she called sleepily. She had the feeling she’d been asleep for a good few hours, at least by the way she no longer felt quite as desperately tired as she had done.</p><p>“Commander, there’s something down here you should see.”</p><p>“Wes?” She frowned and blinked hard a few times, trying to push away the dryness in her eyes. She had no idea why Wesley Crusher would want her down in Engineering. She could count the number of times she’d been on the Titan’s Engineering deck on two hands. “What is it?”</p><p>“Just trust me, Deanna,” he said over the comm channel. “You’ll want to see this.”</p><p>With a blip, the computer closed the channel and Deanna sighed, hauling herself to a seated position. It was cool in the bedroom, an indication that they were on ship’s night, and she shivered. Clearly she’d been asleep longer than she’d intended.</p><p>She’d barely been out of the cabin since Thad had been born and the sensation of being amongst the crew and the familiar corridors of the Titan was odd but comforting. As she boarded a turbolift and headed for Engineering, she wondered what could possibly require her attention, and in person no less.  </p><p>When the doors opened on the hallway outside Engineering, she stepped off and walked inside. Wesley Crusher was standing at the central island, his fingers flying over the console as he went about his work. “Wes, I’m here,” she said, announcing her presence. “What can I do for you?”</p><p>Crusher looked up and smiled. “Oh, hello, Deanna…”</p><p>She was about to speak again but he put his finger to his lips and shushed her very quietly, moving around the island to press his hand to her back and lead her gently towards the Titan’s warp core. “I thought you might want to see this,” he said.</p><p>He pointed to the base of the massive pulsing tower, where a figure in red and black sat slumped against the bottom of the core. Deanna recognised it immediately as Will. His eyes were closed and he was asleep, his arms wrapped around a small bump on his chest. Stepping closer, she saw Thad’s downy black hair poking out and a smile filled her face.</p><p>“Oh my…” she murmured. “How long have they been here?”</p><p>“Most of my shift,” whispered Crusher. “They were here when I arrived. Thad woke a couple of hours ago and the captain fed him, then they were both asleep again within minutes.” He grinned at Deanna. “I’ve decided it must be the sound of the warp core.”</p><p>Deanna cocked her head and listened to the steady throbbing of the Titan’s engines. Without doubt, there was something faintly hypnotic about the constant, unchanging rhythm, like the sound of a heartbeat.</p><p>“Do you want to wake him?” asked Crusher.</p><p>She considered that. The two of them looked quite comfortable – Will’s legs were stretched out in front of him and his head was resting against a rolled up uniform jacket. He was snoring quietly. “No, no,” she heard herself saying. “Let them sleep.” She glanced at Crusher. “If they’re not in your way?”</p><p>“Of course not. There’s only me and Rheinberger down here until 0600.”</p><p>Deanna smiled. “Then I’m going for some breakfast in the mess. Will you let me know when either of them wakes?”</p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>And with that, she cast her eyes one last time over the sight of her son and her husband, smiling once again, and turned on her heel to take advantage of the peace and quiet.  </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Inspired by a photograph of my husband and son I discovered on my phone some weeks ago.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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